Health News

Autism Treatment Options For Adolescents Are Not Supported By Evidence

Date: Aug-27-2012
According to a recent report, Vanderbilt University researchers say that current therapies used to treat adolescents with autism are not supported by evidence proving they are effective methods. Melissa McPheeters, Ph.D., M.P.H...

Toxic Phthalates In School Supplies Used By Kids

Date: Aug-27-2012
High levels of toxic phthalates, which are banned in toys and are associated with birth defects, ADHD, obesity, behavioral problems and asthma, have been found in 75% of children's back-to-school supplies, a new report issued by the Center for Health, Environment & Justice, the Empire State Consumer Project, and Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY). School supplies were tested in a laboratory, and even seemingly harmless products, such as Dora, Spiderman and Disney branded lunchboxes, rainboots, raincoats, backpacks, and 3-ring binders were found to have elevated levels of phthalates...

Breast Cancer Recurrence Higher Among Overweight Women

Date: Aug-27-2012
Obese and overweight women are more likely to experience breast cancer recurrence compared to women of normal weight, regardless of the type of cancer treatment they received, researchers reported in the journal Cancer. Joseph Sparano, MD, of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Montefiore Medical Center, New York, and team explained that the patient does not necessarily have to be obese, she may be just within what is considered as overweight. He added that the higher recurrence risk is for the most common type of cancer...

How Does The Flu Virus Disrupt Our Natural Defense System?

Date: Aug-27-2012
According to a study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, researchers at Northwestern University have identified one of the ways the influenza virus disarms our natural defense system. The virus decreases the production of key immune system-regulating proteins in human cells that help attack the invader. In order to do this, the virus switches on the microRNAs that regulate these proteins. The study, conducted by molecular biologist Curt M...

CMS Announces Initiative To Improve Primary Care

Date: Aug-27-2012
500 primary care practices from 7 U.S. regions have been chosen to form a new partnership to offer improved quality health care at affordable costs. The Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative is a 4-year initiative by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMS Innovation Center) that started in the fall of 2011 and is between care practices and payers from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), state Medicaid agencies, commercial health plans, self-insured businesses, and primary care providers...

"Smart Catheter" Developed For Prevention Of Catheter-Related Infections

Date: Aug-27-2012
At the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, researchers announced that a new "smart catheter" is being developed in order to prevent catheter-related blood and urinary tract infections. The new catheter can sense the start of an infection, and can automatically release an anti-bacterial substance to fight the infection. According to Dipankar Koley, Ph.D., a post-doctoral researcher in the lab of Mark Meyerhoff, Ph.D...

How Do Body Temperatures Influence The Biological Clock?

Date: Aug-27-2012
According to a study published in Science magazine, Ueli Schibler, a professor at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, has identified a molecular mechanism by which body temperature rhythms influence the biological clock. The study was conducted in collaboration with researchers at the Ecole polytechnique fédérale of Lausanne (EPFL). During the day, numerous processes in our body fluctuate in a regular pattern. These variations can be powered by local oscillators present within our cells of by systemic signals controlled by the master pacemaker, located in the brain...

Pig Parasite To Be Trialled As Treatment For Crohn's Disease

Date: Aug-27-2012
A trial using eggs of a pig parasite to treat Crohn's disease started this month, led by a US biotech company that is developing a new class of biologic treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer. Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that usually affects the intestines, but may occur anywhere in the nine-meter-long alimentary canal that starts at the mouth and finishes at the end of the rectum (anus)...

Trastuzumab Emtansine (T-DM1) Significantly Improves Breast Cancer Survival

Date: Aug-27-2012
The investigational drug, Trastuzumab Emtansine (T-DM1), improves survival of patients with HER2-Positive metastatic breast cancer "significantly", Genentech Inc. announced today as it published highlights of its Phase III EMILIA study results. T-DM1 was compared to lapatinib and Xeloda (capecitabine) combination therapy. The EMILIA study has met both of its co-primary endpoints: progression-free survival and significant improvements in overall survival, the company added. Genentech, based in California, USA, is part of the Roche Group...

Electronic Cigarettes Not Linked To Heart Damage

Date: Aug-27-2012
Using electronic cigarettes is not associated with acute adverse effects on cardiac function, researchers from the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, Athens, Greece, reported at the European Society for Cardiology 2012 Conference in Munich, Germany. Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos added that according to currently available data, electronic cigarettes are considerably less harmful than smoking tobacco, and switching from smoking tobacco to using electronic cigarettes is most likely a good health move...